An apartment fire in southwest Calgary has forced residents to evacuate

Residents of a southwest Calgary condominium were evacuated after a fire early Saturday morning.

According to several residents who spoke to CTV News, the building’s fire alarms went off around 4:50 a.m.

Crews responded to 35 Richard Court SW and upon arrival found fire damage and working sprinklers on a second floor balcony.

The Calgary Fire Department says its investigation revealed fire in the exterior walls of several floors of the four-story building.

Eventually, a second alarm was called.

“When we came out of our block shortly after, the hallway was full of smoke,” said Dave, who lives in a block near the one where the fire was.

“I believe it was a unit pretty close to mine right across the hall that actually — I don’t know if it was the unit itself or the balcony — but it caught fire,” he said.

“As we were leaving, there were three or four firefighters in the hallway hooking up the hose and getting ready to take care of the fire,” he added.

35 Richard Court SW

He said that by the time he managed to get outside with his German shepherd puppy, the fire was already out.

He did not know if there was any damage to his apartment.

A second resident, Scott, who lives in a first-floor apartment, said his apartment had water damage.

“Looks like I won’t be living in this unit for a while,” he said.

A statement from the CFD said the walls of several of the blocks had to be opened and six homes currently remained evacuated. All of them faced significant water and smoke damage.

One resident with minor injuries was treated at the scene.

Dave said this isn’t the first time a fire has broken out in the building, but the fire station is only a few hundred meters away, so fire crews are always quick to respond.

What made Saturday’s fire different was how close it was to his own part.

“This is the closest it’s ever been,” he said.

A third resident said there are just over 200 units in the building, which he added was built in 2003.

The cause of the fire is under investigation and crews will continue to monitor the scene throughout Saturday night.